“Most importantly, people with coeliac disease who currently struggle with the logistics of a lifelong gluten-free diet and a cumbersome and antiquated supply system, would have the convenience and choice we all enjoy.”

But gastroenterology experts David Sanders and Matthew Kurien, and Sarah Sleet, Chief Executive of Coeliac UK, argue that removing the prescriptions unfairly discriminates against people with coeliac disease.

Annual prescriptions costs for gluten-free foods were just 0.3 per cent of the total NHS prescribing budget last year.

They argue that “a gluten-free diet is the only treatment for coeliac disease and adhering to this diet is challenging.”

The average cost of gluten-free products are 3-4 times the price of standard equivalent products, and there is limited availability of such products in shops.

Despite this, around 40 per cent of CCGs in England are restricting or removing these prescriptions, while Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are not following suit.

Experts argue that there is no other example in the NHS of a disease having its treatment costs cut by 50 - 100 per cent.

They warn that targeting gluten-free food prescriptions may reduce costs in the short term but there will be long term costs in terms of patient outcomes.

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